


Technomancer

by slowmobanana



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-10 21:25:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11134983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slowmobanana/pseuds/slowmobanana
Summary: In a world where Magic is slowly coming into existence, Ramsey Corporations is a technology-based inventions company that has recently expanded their company to include gadgets for the Magically Enhanced, specifically for a local superhero known best as Vav. With more and more Magically Enhanced people appearing across the world, it's no surprise superheroes and villains alike have risen from mundane life in search of peace or self-satisfaction.Ryan is a brilliant technomancer for Ramsey Corporations. He, and his coworker Matt, are in charge of building magic-infused gadgets used to support Vav in his heroic ventures and are heroes of their own right from the backseat. But news of a potentially very dangerous super villain known as Edger threatens Achievement City, Ryan finds himself on the front lines with Vav, a short-tempered CIA agent, and a mercenary who could be more dangerous than the enemy.Little does he know, he's about to discover that Magic is far more unpredictable and volatile than anticipated.





	1. Shut Up, I'm Your Boss

**Author's Note:**

> The Title is very subject to change because it was only the, I think, third thing I could think of. Also, I am not liking certain parts of this fic so far because the pacing is weird (esp in comparison to an old fic I wrote forever ago that was super good and I liked it but ended up taking down--) but I have hopes that it will turn out to be better. I dunno. We'll have to see, but my goal for this fic is to get it finished. I hope the writing of this fic will improve as more chapters come out and it's less weird for me to write. I HOPE AT LEAST???  
> So, I hope that I can make this better and come back and edit stuff that needs to be edited. UGH. SO, if I do go back and make edit stuff, then I'll post it in the notes of the most recent chapter (if that makes sense--)  
> ANYWAYS, I hope you enjoy it. I do have plans for this fic, so I hope that it will be good. Also, this chapter is longer than what the rest of the chapters might be just because it's the first one. We'll see how the pacing plays out.  
> I apologize for this awkward chapter, but it was hard to write for some reason. I will probably come back to edit this. I dunno. I just feel sad things about this chapter. Onwards!

The Scorpions slammed through the computer speakers, accompanied by two horribly off-pitch voices at the top of their lungs. Ryan pushed his wheeling chair with all the might of his legs and glided to the furthermost left desk. It was littered with technological and mechanical parts and he reached for a incandescent orb in the back left of the desk. “Found it!” he shouted over the music and the only other person in the room, his coworker Matt, jabbed a thumbs up in response without stopping his loud singing.

Ryan stood abruptly, crossing the distance from the metal desks toward the front where a black keyboard laid. He tapped the space bar and a holographic projection flashed onto the white board. A proud invention; not quite an interactive holographic screen yet but it was certainly one step closer to such space-age technology.

Everything in the room was some kind of personal invention. All inventions and experiments and tests run in this room was made by Ryan, who had the privilege to call himself an engineering technomancer, and Matt, a technobiologist, who were hired to work together and build unusual and unique inventions for Ramsey Corporations. Of course, their style of work was a little more special than just basic inventors; with the appearance of Magic and abnormal human capabilities, it seemed there would soon be a new demographic to target in only a few years.

Ryan always considered himself as one of the luckiest people on the planet; he was offered a chance to work apart of the Achieve program, witnessed a world billions of people had yet to discover, and was given such a position he could meddle around in it despite his very human flesh and bones. Even within the company itself, a good ninety percent of it's employees only worked in the human faction of the work place without a clue to the whole other building dedicated to magical research and technology.

As the guitar rift faded into his awareness, he couldn't help shaking his hand in front of his rib cage as if he was strumming a guitar but only two seconds later, the music was lowered. He craned his neck backward. “Hey, that's my favourite part.”

“Yeah, I'm not yelling over that.”

Ryan scoffed but said no more. Matt sauntered to the front. “Alright. So, we have the Time Core and something to use it with.” He produced the something to use it with from his side; a rather small but intricate spherical device that opened like a locket. “Would you like to do the honours?”

“Oh, I would.” Ryan placed the glowing orb into the center of the device and Matt closed the device around it.

Taking it in both of his hands now, he twisted a few knobs and tighten a few clasps. Finally, he held it out into his open palm. “There. A Time Bomb.” There was a brief moment of dulled victorious silence, the guitar shredding distantly behind them. “Well, that's done.”

“Think Vav'll like it?”

“He better,” Matt mumbled. “or it's ten million dollars and ten weeks worth of work down the drain.”

Ryan jumped as if he had been prodded with a taser. “Holy shit, ten million!? What the hell is Ramsey paying for?”

“The Time Core?”

There was hesitation before Ryan shrugged, not really willing to let Matt know he was sort of hoping he would get paid a couple million for the job, considering how many painful nights he and Matt had given this project. He reached over to the keyboard, selected a new button, and the screen disappeared.

The biologist moved back towards the radio and shut that off, too. “I'm going to show this to Ramsey and get his opinion on it. Chances are, we can get Gavin to field test it on his next outing.”

Ryan grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and folded it over his arm. “Mind if I join you? I'm supposed to be there in ten minutes anyway.”

Matt shrugged as he gathered a few papers into a single hardcover binder and tucked it under his arm. Awkwardly, he reached up behind with his free hand and pulled on the elastic of his short ponytail until his hair was free. “Cover girl,” Ryan joked.

The biologist chuckled, then rolled the elastic on his wrist. “You know, you could take a break. I'm headed home after I get this to Ramsey.”

“Yeah, but he's got a mini fridge.”

“Be my guest.”

They left the design room and Ryan made sure to flick off the light and lock the door behind him.

The building was comedically large in comparison to the number of employees actually working within it. Geoff Ramsey, CEO and founder of Ramsey Corporations, was hoping on expanding the Achieve program into a full branch with the coming of the new year when the awareness of the Magically Enhanced had spread to all forms of media.

The halls were long and wide and empty and their footsteps echoed despite their sound muffled by the long black and green carpet. The windows were bare and sunlight poured in buckets onto the glaring tile floors. “Fuck corporate cutbacks,” Matt snapped as he brought up his free hand to block the glare from his eyes. “We _need_ those curtains.”

Ryan fashioned himself a make-shift drape out of his jacket to block the sun in the window but the white tile still proved an issue. “The black carpet doesn't make it any nicer on the eyes, either.”

“You guys should invest in a pair of sunglasses,” joked a familiar voice and they both turned to face one of the aforementioned Magically Enhanced; Gavin, who was, of course, donning a pair of obnoxiously gold sunglasses that clashed with his blue and red attire. “See, boys? Always think one step ahead.”

“Yeah, because we're not assholes, Gavin,” Matt snapped. “We don't wear sunglasses inside like douchebags.”

Gavin tilted his head a bit. “Yeah, but I'm not the one being blinded by the floor now, am I?”

Ryan cast a sideways glance. “I mean...” he began carefully, letting the argument hang in their air.

Matt sighed with defeat then threw his hands in the air and continued down the hall. “Whatever, man.”

The technomancer continued beside him and Gavin bounced behind the two of them. The Time Bomb that had caught the light just right and Gavin impulsively reached for it. “Hey, what's that?”

Matt yanked it out of his reach and narrowed his eyes at the magical man. “Be careful! If you use this wrong, we'll be trapped in a time bubble for thousands of years.”

“Geezus,” Gavin mumbled, stepping back behind Ryan. “Is that what you guys've been working on the last few weeks?”

“Yeah,” the taller blond answered. “Took us ten weeks to figure out how to turn that time orb into something useful. Ironically, most of our problems were just getting it to do anything. We were so used to shit just blowing up in our faces rather than just layin' there and looking pretty.”

“That's the thing with time,” Gavin said. “It's fickle as hell. Can't just make it happen, like fire or whatever that last thing was you guys were working on. You've got to... tease it.”

“If I hear you say that one more time,” Matt began but he didn't finish the sentence and Gavin stole the opportunity to enable.

“What, Matt? What if I say it one more time?”

“I'll use the Time Bomb on you.”

There was a silence, then an innocent, “I wonder what would happen if you did use it on me.”

“Maybe you'd shut up for once,” Ryan chided and there was a minimal chuckle from the rest of them.

More bickering and a few minutes later, they were on the twenty-seventh floor where all the executive offices and board rooms rested. Gavin had no problem slamming open the door to Ramsey's office and hopping on in without any bother or care. “Hey, Geoff!” he chirped, stealing a seat on one of the couches in the office. Geoff hadn't even turned away from the window yet by the time this transpired.

Ryan stole a quick glance around the office despite knowing it well. Thank heavens Geoff's office had curtains or he'd develop a device to destroy the sun itself.

The office was dark, save the morning sun that poured in lines between closed blinds, and was so in both light and colour; the drapes were burgundy and billowing slightly in the cold air blown upwards from the vent, the wood of Mr. Ramsey's desk was dark and smelled of a river deep in the jungle, and even the liquids of aged whiskey and scotch were still as lackluster ambrosia on the chocolate brown bar to the left.

Ryan scanned the office for the mentioned mini fridge but his shoulders dropped with his disavail.

“Hey, look who it fucking is.” Geoff gestured to the three visitors in his office, though he was slightly more confused by Matt's existence. “Matt Bragg,” he acknowledged.

Matt stepped forward and lifted the Time Bomb. “Ryan and I did a thing.” He crossed the distance to show Geoff, but when his boss moved to touch it, Matt pulled it back. “Uh, we don't really know what it does yet. We were hoping we could get Gavin to field test it.”

“Is that the Time Core?” Geoff asked. Matt nodded. Geoff looked between the Time Bomb and Gavin, quiet as he considered the option. “We don't know what it does?”

“No, sir.”

“Does it work?”

“Well--”

“So, how is Gavin supposed to use it on the field?”

Without missing a beat, Matt backtracked. “Did I say field test? I meant regular test.”

Geoff laughed then waved a hand. “Yeah, sure. I'll write you a form to use Testing Room B tomorrow first thing. Once we know what it actually does and we know it works, Gavin can field test it.”

“Sweet,” said Gavin.

Matt nodded and folded his fist around it. “Sure. I'll put it in the Test Locker for now.”

“Sure thing.”

With a nod, Matt turned and walked to the door. “Then I'm outta here. See you tomorrow, Ry.”

Ryan offered a nod and a brief wave as Matt passed him and shut the door behind him.

Geoff sat at his desk and folded his hands onto it. “So, Mr. Haywood, I guess you're here for the meeting? Sit down.”

Silently, Ryan moved from his position from the door to sit across from Gavin. There was a moment of silence before the technomancer leaned back against the couch and rested an arm on the back of it. “So, Gavin, anything interesting on your patrol?”

Gavin shrugged. “Ran into Hamburger Joe yesterday. That was interestin'.”

“He's outta jail?”

“Yeah, he's married and has a kid. Lovely child, good manners. Oh, you wouldn't believe this, he married his prison officer.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah! I was bloody shocked, too! Who would'a guess, right?”

“Huh.”

There was a single, solid beep that clipped the edge of Ryan's sentence and everyone jumped at the sound. Geoff moved his hand to the phone on his desk and hit the button. “Yes?”

“Mr. Ramsey?” came a woman's voice through the speaker.

“Yes?”

“Jack's here, with visitors.”

“Great, send him up.”

Ryan and Gavin leaned forward simultaneously. “Visitors?” they questioned, then looked at each other and chuckled.

“Yup.” Geoff stood. “It's apart of the meeting you guys are here for.” There was a silence as Geoff rounded his desk to lean against it. “Gavin, I'm sure you've heard, and Ryan, I'm sure you haven't... Some sources have been buzzing about a, ah, possible Magically Enhanced threat.” Both men stiffened at the news. “Some are saying he – or she, no judgement here – is really strong and we need to be, well, careful.”

“That's what the Time Bomb is for.” Ryan shifted his weight onto one leg. “As well as every other device Matt and I literally slaved away on for Gavin. You really think we're going to need back-up? We took down Hamburger Joe.”

“ _I_ took down Hamburger Joe,” Gavin interjected unhelpfully and Ryan ignored him.

“What about the Dark Mistress? We thought we needed help there, too, but lo and behold, turns out that magical gas mask ended up saving the day.”

“She was hot,” Gavin interjected unhelpfully again, and Ryan still ignored him.

“We haven't even seen this guy in action yet. He – she, whatever – could be nothing. Or, we just haven't built the right thing yet. Or maybe--”

“Hey,” Geoff said sharply. “Ryan.”

“What?”

“Shut up.” Ryan scrambled for a few words but Geoff was faster than him. “Jack insisted. 'Sides, it's already done. They're on their way up here as we speak. One of them we had no choice in the matter...”

“Of course it was Jack,” Gavin sighed. “He's no faith in me.”

“I've got plenty of faith in you!” came a very offended fourth voice just as the door opened and in stepped Jack. “Sorry for wanting to be careful.”

Gavin scrambled a bit then stood. “Well, I mean like, you're Magically Enhanced, too. Why doesn't Jack just start patrolling with me?”

“Because Jack has more important things to do other than listen to you bitch all day about your job,” Geoff snapped as Jack stood sideways to let in the two new visitors, both of whom Ryan was overlooking very thoroughly. They didn't look like they were together; one was dressed in a sharp black suit and the other was a short man who looked like he belonged in a biker gang, each shooting disapproving glares to the other.

Jack gestured to the visitors. “Geoff, Ryan, and Vav, I'd like to introduce to you Jeremy 'Monster Truck' Dooley from Los Santos and Michael Jones of the CIA.”

“CIA!?” Ryan repeated quickly and the sharp dressed man, presumably Michael, narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah. CIA,” he growled firmly. “Why? Got something to hide?”

Ryan, again, was lost for words and so sunk back into the couch uncertainly. “No.”

“Good. Then we won't have a problem.”

Geoff stepped forward, opening his arms in grand motion. “Mr. Jones, Mr. Dooley, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Ramsey Corporations. I am CEO and founder, Geoff Ramsey.”

“I know,” the agent began, fixing the cuff on his right hand. “Well, actually, I thought you were a co-founder.”

“With my wife, yes,” Geoff corrected quickly. “But she left the business in my hands.”

“To pursue her own ambitions, right?” Michael finished, stepping carefully around the couch behind Ryan. “What was it? I think, a sanctuary, right? For the Magically Enha--”

“We get it!” Dooley snapped, stepping on the opposite side of Michael behind Gavin. “The CIA sees all, hears all, knows all. Ooo, the great and _powerful_ CIA. We _definitely_ fear you. So scary.”

Michael smirked. “You should be.”

Geoff looked to Gavin and Ryan, who stared back equally unnerved. Slowly, Gavin sat back down on the couch. “Well, I'm going to get this show on the road before we start pulling out guns or neuralyzers or... something.” There was a brief chuckle from Ryan.

The boss man moved behind his desk and hit a button underneath it. A loud whirring echoed within the walls and the room began to move: the windows sealed themselves with thin metal and a large screen began to slowly descend from the ceiling behind Geoff's desk. He picked up a small remote from his desk and folded his arms behind his back. Once the screen had lowered completely, it opened to the Ramsey Corperations logo.

“So, you are all wondering why we're here tonight.” He nodded to Michael, who took a place next to Geoff. “The CIA has notified us of a potential large threat within Achievement City. We have reason to believe a very dangerous man, formerly a scientist with the CIA, has come seek refuge here in our town and has plans to do something drastic.” He clicked a button and the screen displayed a recent web article of Vav's most recent victory. “Of course, because of the... not-so-secret superheroism--”

“Eyo!”

“--that – shut up, Gavin – has been taking place in Achievement City, it was only wise of the CIA to notify us of this threat and has asked us to help in finding and eliminating said threat before things get out of hand. Mr. Jones?”

Michael stepped aside and accepted the small remote from Geoff, flipping to the next slide. The picture displayed was a man in a large, bull-like mask with two large horns sticking high into the air. “Target's name is Edgar Bo Vine, former CIA scientist who was apart of our Magically Enchanced Testing program, or the MET program, before he stole several crucial files and many highly unstable experiments and vanished from our Alabama facility. Thing is, he burned _all_ of his files before he escaped and so we have no personal information available at the moment.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Ryan interjected quickly. “You mean to tell me that this guy destroyed his entire personal life on file? Wouldn't you guys have back-ups upon back-ups of all your agents' information?”

Michael's eyebrows furrowed together. “Believe me, we were shocked, too.” He continued onward to the next slide, a more detailed report on Edgar. “The guy is a little psycho. He has a thing for cow masks and wears one that makes him look like a Minotaur. My best guess is that the guy read too many comic books as a kid and hopes to make himself some sort of superhero. And, with Vav's reputation the way it is, I don't doubt he'd come here to fulfill whatever sick plan he's got in his head.”

“Is that CIA official,” Jack asked. “or just your idea?”

Michael huffed and pursed his lips together, but said nothing. “Our mission is to find Edgar and stop him before he does anything crazy. Any questions?”

Gavin raised a hand. “So, is Edgar Magically Enhanced?”

“As far as we know, no.”

Then Ryan raised his hand. “Do we have any information on what files and experiments he took off with? Any idea what we might be up against in that field?”

The agent hesitated. “I'd prefer to keep that on a need-to-know basis.”

Ryan folded his arms. “I dunno. I'd definitely count it as something we need to know. If Vav is running around out there without the right kind of protection... Well, he might be Magically Enhanced, but he's still Gavin.”

“That's why _I'm_ here,” Michael insisted more aggressively this time. “Listen, dumbass, if I tell you what Edgar stole, I'd have to kill you all then the CIA would kill me. Besides, he won't be alone. Dooley and I will be with him. And you... Wait.” He turned to Geoff. “Why _is_ he here?”

Geoff leaned against his desk again. “Ryan's our best inventor. He might be human, but he has a grasp on Magical Enhancement we've never seen. Between him and Matt, they make an incredible te--”

“Yeah, that's great,” Dooley interrupted flatly. “Is he going on the field with us?”

Jack began, “Of course no--”

“Of course he is,” said Geoff.

“I am!?”

“He is!?”

“He is.”

The technomancer jumped to his feet. “Wait, don't _I_ get a say in this?!”

Geoff laughed. “No, idiot. I'm your boss.”

“But why?” Gavin squawked, but he sounded more amused than bewildered at this moment.

“For exactly the reason he just said, dumbass,” the boss man retorted. “Mr. Jones here isn't going to tell us anything about Edgar or how we should defend Vav against him – which is _stupid_ ,” Michael raised his hands defensively. “because he and the entire country will fucking _die_ without that information, but _whatever_ – so Ryan needs to go and... see what he can do. As much as I'd love to do the usual, 'throw whatever he gives you at the bad guy and see if it works' method, Edgar has too much potential to be a very powerful enemy to trial and error our way through it. So, Ryan's going with you.” A pause. “Just don't let him die. He's too smart for that shit.”

Gavin leaned his forearms onto his knees. “Wow, Ry. A real chance to see how Magic works.” He smiled. “You excited?”

“Sure.”

“Good.” Geoff hit another button and the screen started to roll into the ceiling. “Your first patrol will be tomorrow, following the Time Bomb testing. You'll be covering the North West side of town.” The windows opened again and blinded everyone but Geoff who had his back to the light. “Dismissed.”

 


	2. Truth Is, No One Knows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previous chapter edited a paragraph in which both Matt and Gavin spoke to give Gavin's new speech it's own paragraph.  
> Not that you really care, but I like to feel as if I am doing the editing thing. Onwards.

Ryan considered calling Matt to bitch (or rave) about his apparent new job, but decided against it. Matt would find out soon enough and there was no point in dwelling on something he had no control over. At least, not at the moment.

The jingling of keys echoed through the apartment hallway as he unlocked the door with one hand, the other clutching a bag of Chinese take out he'd picked up on the way home. The door opened to a dark and stale apartment. He reached over sideways and flicked on the light, revealing the near emptiness within.

The walls were white and nearly baron, minus a mirror that hung over the television set and a dollar store painting in the far kitchen. There was one couch, a large Smart TV, and a wooden coffee table between them. Perhaps he was being minimalistic, but given he spent more time at work than at his own home, he found himself procrastinating the much needed trip to IKEA. With the six digit number in his chequing account, he thought he would've bought more furniture by now.

But it just didn't feel right yet.

He set the bag of food on the coffee table, grabbed the remote, and flipped onto the News Channel to catch if Vav was apprehending Edgar yet. The familiar faced reporter appeared on screen, a determined and brilliant man named Jon Risinger – though he was less formally known as the Rismonger, as he was one of the few reporters who got the sources to know that Vav under the Ramsey Corporations and was smart enough to be polite about it. By this time, he knew Risinger rather well, though Geoff had grown fed up with the insistent invitation to appear on his show.

“...successfully raised over two _thousand_ dollars for the local homeless shelter, breaking her school's record for most money raised for a fundraiser in over _ten_ years.” Ryan smiled genuinely at the news. He sat on the couch and reached for his bag, pulling out the boxes one by one and laying them out on the table. “The owners of the homeless shelter were touched by the girl's determination and the city has agreed to raise a plaque in her honour at City Hall. ... In other news, another unusual incident has skeptics of recent conspiracy theories buzzing with uncertainty.”

Quietly, he stopped and turned his attention to the TV. The picture cut from Jon to a video with the shakiness and quality only a phone camera could offer. The video featured a woman in the center of a small but growing tornado, somehow remaining on the ground despite the heavy force that blew around her.. Her blond hair whipped about in the gale and the car behind her was blown sideways onto the sidewalk just as several pedestrians sprinted from the situation. The woman herself was appalled by the gusts, staring at her hands in absolute terror as the tornado expanded. The camera shook, faltering up to the bright clear sky for a moment before it turned back to the woman.

In suddenness, a blue blur zipped onto the scene and hoisted the woman into it's arms. As quickly as it came, it disappeared and the video ended.

“A woman in East Hobokin stirred quite a ruckus earlier today,” Jon continued. “when a tornado seemed to miraculously appear around her on a bright blue day. There is speculation that this incident may be related to other unusual occurrences that have happened throughout America, but this is the first public use of Magic caught on tape.

“Many believe the blue blur at the end to be Vav, local superhero of Achievement City, capturing – or rescuing – her, from the tornado, but no official information on whether Vav was involved or not has been released. The police have issued a public statement to remain calm and to call the number below if there are any major leads to the woman's identity or any other Magically Enhanced beings within Achievement City. ...An eighty-six year old Southeast Pimberton man has finally found his talent in painting after losing his--”

Ryan sighed, lifting his wooden chopsticks and a container of food off the table. “Wonder how many people will call bullshit.”

...

“Well, this is bullshit.”

Matt had been bitching more about Ryan being on the field than Ryan had to himself the night before. The technobiologist was activating computers and arranging papers and the Time Bomb rested in a velvet box on the test deck beyond the plexiglass wall while Ryan just stood stupidly behind him, wary of getting in Matt's irritated way. “I know.”

“If you die, then I'll have to do everything on my own! More work for me.”

“Wow,” Ryan retorted. “Glad to know I had such an impact on your life.”

With more wit than irritation, Matt turned and gently placed a hand on his heart. “You'll always be remembered. Not by me, but by someone.”

Ryan chuckled, finally relaxing enough to lean back against the wall and fold his arms comfortably across his chest. “Is that a jab at something else?”

“Please, Ryan.” Matt's witty exterior faltered at the accusation and he turned to sign himself in to one of the computers. “I'd never sink so low. I'm sure someone's missing you right now, even if you're... not.”

“Ooo, are we talking about Ryan's tragic past?” The door was shut by a woman with red hair in a white lab coat suit with the name tag, Lindsay, buttoned over her breast pocket.

“Lindsay, it's hardly tragic,” the technomancer half-joked, deepening his voice in false humility. “In order for it to be tragic, I'd have to be sad about it first. Develop some kind of intricate monologue I mutter under my breath and brood about while staring over Achievement City like in every anime ever.”

Matt added, “Yeah, in order for it to be a tragic past, Ryan would actually have to remember what it is.”

“It could've been a great past!” Ryan gestured grandly with his arms, moving them appropriately as he spoke. “I could've been the king of a distant land, beloved by my people and feared by my enemies. I could've been a multimillionaire, owner of a bank in a foreign country and living the high life. I could've been-- ...ah, I dunno. Something else great, I'm sure.”

“You didn't know what a car was,” Matt reminded, concern edging his tone. “I had to explain what _ketchup_ was.”

Ryan folded his arms. “It was a memory lapse, Matt. Happens with amnesia.” He paused. “Maybe I was just a king of a very, _very_ far away land.”

“I'm sure whatever past life you had,” Lindsay said as she produced her key card from her pocket. “it was fine.” She swiped her key card over the testing door lock and pulled it open. “Alright, boys, let's get this show on the road.”

Silence fell as the trio readied the last of the computer systems, a few forms, and Lindsay's personal notebook. (Which, ironically, was written mostly by Ryan's hand.)

Testing Room B was a large, white room, separated from the Control Room only by bulletproof glass. The door Lindsay opened lead to the deck. Down the stairs from the deck to the floor that had several markings on the ground and up the walls to mark the limits of the room. Of course, as safety precautions, they were often ignored for the sake of progress.

Ryan grabbed the safety notebook and flipped to a clean page, checking off various check boxes to finalise preparation for testing. There was a loud beep that attracted everyone's attention to the testing deck and the door opened to reveal Gavin. “Eyo!” he hollered and his voice echoed off the bare walls. “It's Gavvy!”

“Hey,” came three voices out of unison and varying enthusiasm, the most of which faded when he stepped aside to reveal he wasn't alone. Jack and, shockingly, Michael filed in through the door behind him and Ryan lowered the booklet from his face. “Hey,” he said again, with more confusion this time.

Michael made his way over to the testing deck, craning his neck to get a better look at the Time Bomb. Matt looked between Ryan, Lindsay, and Jack uncertainly. “I just came to watch,” the agent answered. “The CIA's curious of what Ramsey Corporations is doing in their testing rooms, especially since Vav's gadgets are rather... impressive.”

Ryan and Matt glanced at Jack, who sighed rather drastically. “Geoff had him cleared for visitation, so... carry on.”

“Sure thing,” Lindsay said casually, offering at most a shrug. “Just make sure he stays in the Control Room during testing.”

“No problem,” Michael replied, rubbing his hands together.

Gavin came to Matt's side and the inventor handed him the Time Bomb. “Just click the top. Ryan and I estimate you have three to five seconds to throw it.” He gestured to Jack and Michael. “Do you guys mind?” Jack opened the door and waved an arm to Michael, who was too focused on the room around them to notice he was being spoken to. After a few brief seconds, he jumped when Jack tapped his shoulder then snorted at himself and retreated to the Control Room. “I'm gonna go start the processing. Ryan, you good to watch?”

Ryan nodded and Matt didn't hesitate to disappear into the Control Room. Lindsay and Ryan joined Gavin on the deck. “So, the theory is,” Ryan began, pointing to a particular knob at the top of the grenade. “when it detonates, it will create a stasis field of approximately five feet. The target is small, but it's intended to prevent casualties. Just remember, the Time Core is a great concentration of _your_ Enhancement, so it will respond to you.”

“How long's the stasis field supposed to last?”

“We don't know. On it's own, it might be only a few minutes. We're hoping that if you specifically use the Time Bomb, the stasis field could last as long as you want it to. Perhaps even indefinitely in extreme cases.” Gavin's eyebrows furrowed together. “Don't worry. Matt and I have fail safes.” There was silence and Ryan put a hand on his shoulder. “Trust us. Have we let you down before?”

There was hesitation, then Gavin relented. “Fine. Let's give her a whirl, then, yeah?”

Ryan nodded, then offered a thumbs up to the Control Room. Matt's voice echoed in the room from the speakers above. “Activating moving target sequence alpha one.”

A panel down on the floor opened and a target dummy was lifted out of the slot. It slowly began to move side-to-side like a duck in a shooting game. Gavin flipped the Time Bomb in his hands until he felt the knob touch his finger and he clicked it. With a great wind-up, he whipped it as hard as he could across the room at the target. The Time Bomb missed the dummy and hit the wall behind it. A few seconds passed and the Time Bomb did nothing.

There was a silence, long and awkward, only broken by the whirring of the dummy moving back and forth across the room. Finally, Gavin turned on his heel and looked at Ryan. “So far, makes a great baseball.”

Ryan laughed then made a few notes in Lindsay's notebook. “Yeah, I've gotta be honest with you, the Time Core is... not a great specimen thus far. Likes to lay there and do nothing.”

“Sounds like my last girlfriend,” came Michael's voice through the speaker. Gavin snorted.

“Alright, Ry,” said Matt this time. “Go grab the Time Bomb and adjust knob four Bravo... I guess.”

“I'll get it!” Lindsay volunteered and she hurried down the steps. She neared it, faltering in her step slightly, then slammed into nothingness as if she had hit a wall. Everyone exclaimed as she collapsed onto her rear.

Ryan hurried down the stairs to her side and hurried help her stand. “Are you okay?”

“Never better,” she replied, rubbing the tips of her fingers into her temple. “That was weird.”

The technomancer steadied her, then carefully moved towards the Time Bomb, an outstretched hand leading him so he wouldn't fall into the same fate. Instead of finding something solid, he felt his fingers become absorbed into a liquid-like substance and he stopped. He pulled back his hand, without avail. He pulled again, harder this time, but his fingers remained frozen in their position and his knuckles cracked as they stretched. There was a silence, then he looked back over his shoulder with a grin. “Guys, it worked!”

Matt, Jack, and Michael rushed into the test room and everyone descended the stairs to Ryan and Lindsay's side. “It worked?” Matt asked, watching as the dummy moved side to side through the stasis field without hesitation. “It must affect cellular-based substances. Holy crap, how did I not see this?” His chest puffed. “Wow. I can't believe we actually did it.

“Hey, Matt,” Ryan began. “I'm proud of the work we accomplished, but can we please find a way to get me free?” Gavin shrugged and marched into the stasis field without trouble. He picked up the Time Bomb and released the knob at the top. Ryan's hand fell free and he pulled it back at last. “That was more of a success than we thought.”

Matt stroked his beard with his index finger. “We were testing the Time Core on non-organic substances before. I wonder if it had been doing something all along, but we couldn't tell.”

“In fairness, Gavin can slow down inanimate objects as well,” Ryan added. “so it made sense we would assume the Time Core to do the same thing.”

Michael folded his arms. “So, if Ryan got caught in the stasis field and it's supposed to work on people, then why didn't it work on her?”

“Oh, that's easy,” Matt said quickly. “Lindsay's Magically Enhanced. She's got this weird power we just call Wildcard. Basically, whenever she's in danger, some random superpower kinda just... happens and then she's fine.”

The agent's eyes narrowed on Lindsay. “Ramsey didn't mention he had so many Magically Enhanced employees in his company.”

“He shouldn't have to,” she retorted though her tone kept light. “Besides, me, Gavin, and Jack are the only Magically Enhanced employees in the company anyway. None of which, mind you, are inherently dangerous.”

“Anyways,” Jack said quickly before anything more was said on the topic. “it seems like we know what the Time Bomb will do and how it works. So, for now, we're gonna leave it in the testing locker and we'll run some more tests on it whenever we get the time.”

“Hold on.” Matt planted his free hand on his hip. “I thought we were going to let Gavin field test it.”

“No chance in hell!” Michael snapped suddenly and both Lindsay and Ryan jumped. “Vav can't throw worth shit, obviously, and as the spokesperson of the damn thing that's supposed to be keeping our civilians safe, I can't allow you guys to use that _literally_ ticking time bomb on the streets. Multimillion dollar company or not, it's not happening.”

“But we need something to use against Edgar!” argued Gavin. “Or we might as well be walking in with our thumbs up our arses.”

“That's what _he's_ for,” Michael gestured sharply to Ryan. “Don't forget, Vav, this is _my_ investigation. This entire mission is property of the CIA, and so you'll be abiding by _my_ rules. Don't forget that. Speaking of which, now that testing's over, I need the two of you and Dooley to get ready, prompto. Where is that son of a bitch, anyway?”

Jack pulled his phone from his pocket. “Most likely waiting at front desk, but I'll give him a call to make sure.”

“Good.” He turned his head to Gavin and Ryan. “We're leaving ten hundred hours sharp. I won't tolerate tardiness.” Turning on his heel, he started towards the stairs to leave the floor and everyone was left in a confused silence. The Control Room door clicked shut and everyone broke tableaux.

“So,” Lindsay exhaled, letting the quietness hang between her words briefly. “is he on his period or...?”

Ryan threw his arms in the air. “Who knows.”

 


End file.
